Winterhawks return home from Memorial Cup, wishing they had another crack at Halifax

The goodbyes are coming soon for the Portland Winterhawks players who won't be back next seasonWinterhawks photo

Physically and emotionally, the Portland Winterhawks were running on empty when they arrived home Monday from the Memorial Cup.

A 6-4 loss to No. 1-ranked Halifax in Sunday’s championship game at the Credit Union Center in Saskatoon was fresh on their minds. So was the sudden end to a long, roller-coaster season.

There were exit interviews – some of them Monday, the majority of them on Tuesday – and three players were already planning another trip.

Seth Jones, Nic Petan, and Oliver Bjorkstrand will be attending the NHL draft combine in Toronto.

Jones answered the obligatory questions about the June 30 draft, where the Colorado Avalanche could make him the No. 1 pick.

When asked if he was done with juniors, Jones said, “I hope so.’’

He meant no offense to the Hawks, but noted, "I wanted to make the jump (to the NHL) as quick as possible. My goal was to play one year and then move on and make the jump. But if not, then I come back here and develop even more.''

The draft wasn't really on anyone's mind Monday. For all of the Portland players, especially the ones who aren’t coming back, the aftermath of Sunday’s loss was still being felt.

Players know the painful goodbyes are coming sooner than later. They also know how close they came to being the team parading around with the Memorial Cup trophy.

Portland, which fell behind 3-0 in the first period after a staggering start, made the Mooseheads squirm by pulling within 5-4 in the closing minutes.

“We didn’t have anything left in the tank,’’ said Carruth. “They had four days off, we had one day off. You could tell in the first (period) but no excuses. They’re a good hockey team and they deserved to win that night.’’

Said acting coach Travis Green, “we ran into a really good hockey team. It’s tough to lose a game like that. That last game was a great game and it’s too bad someone had to lose. … we just came out on the wrong side of it.’’

As bad as the Hawks looked early, it appeared they were taking over after a strong second period. Green thought so. The players thought so. Suspended head coach/GM Mike Johnston – sitting high in the stands – certainly thought so.

“It felt that way,’’ said Green. “We hit a crossbar, we had a goal disallowed. It felt like we had the momentum going our way. We probably should have scored five goals in that second period (instead of two).’’

Johnston, whose suspension ended with the end of the Hawks’ season, saw it this way:

“It was nervewracking. First period, I knew if we kept it to 3-0 (we still had a chance). Mac was outstanding in that first period. They had a 3-0 lead, but they had other quality chances.

“I thought when we responded, I knew our game would pick up and our legs would come and our skating would start to come, much like it did in the London game. Then we just took off in the second period.

“I was more nervous then. I thought ‘oh, we’ve got them now. We’ve really got them.’ Then there was that long delay between the second and third period. It seemed like it took a bit of energy out of our team. When we came back in the third, we just didn’t have it going again. It took us awhile in the third to get it going again.’’

Nic Petan, Ty Rattie, and Seth Jones celebrate a second period goal in Sunday's championship game. Petan will be back next season, Rattie and Jones are likely goneAP photo

Hawks’ overager Taylor Peters, who said he can’t imagine leaving a city and a billet family that has provided a second home, talked like he wanted another shot at Halifax.

“It’s a little somber (today), there’s a little bit of a bitter taste in our mouths,’’ said Peters, who will likely be playing in the Dallas Stars’ organization next season.

“Never been more proud of a group of guys,’’ he said. “We battle hard. Obviously, those sanctions set us back a little bit but right out of the gate after that happened (on Nov. 28) we took off. We wanted to win the cup. We wanted to win it all.’’

Portland was one game short of winning it all. If Portland and Halifax had battled each other in a seven-game playoff series, who knows what happens?

“I’m not a big fan of the tourney format,’’ said Peters. “I think we could have taken Halifax in a series, but that’s just the way it goes.’’

Said Carruth, “it was a great group of guys, and I wouldn’t want to do it with anybody else. We went pretty far. We went farther than most teams, except for one.’’

Johnston said he expects that several teams will come after Green and try to hire him away from Portland. Johnston said he wouldn’t be surprised if the Everett Silvertips were one of those teams, “but I don’t know if he would want to coach another team in our league. We haven’t talked about it.’’

“I definitely think he’ll get some interest, for sure,’’ said Johnston. “The job he did was phenomenal. How he handled the team, how he coached them, the poise he had. … what he feels are the right steps for him (and his future) is for him to determine.

“He’s got head coaching aspirations. An AHL (American Hockey League, one rung below NHL) head coaching job would make some sense. To go as an assistant someplace else, I don’t know if that would make sense for him immediately. It might in a year or two.’’

Green – who wants to coach in the NHL in some capacity - talked about needing a few weeks off to catch his breath. He said he hasn’t sat down to seriously consider his next move – if there is a next move in the coming days and weeks – but he’s not shutting the door on any communication from other teams.

“We’ll see,’’ Green said when told that his phone is likely to ring soon.

Green has no doubts about being ready to take over his own team if it happens.

“Being under Mike, I felt like it has fast-tracked me probably twice as (quickly),’’ he said of his apprenticeship in Portland.

“We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.’’

Johnston makes it sound unlikely Green would consider taking over another WHL team, but Green noted, “I think any coach, or any player, is going to listen to any other. I really haven’t thought a lot about it. People have asked me what I’m going to do. But to sit here and say I’m not going to listen is crazy. You just don’t know (what you will do) until certain situations present themselves.’’